A thug, Carl Roberto, runs across a rooftop and fires behind him. At the training warehouse, Felicity tells the team that Green Arrow is taking on Carl to show the four of them what happens and how to handle it. Meanwhile, Arrow brings down Carl and drags him up into the air, punches him, and demands to know where Carl's supplier of Stardust is. Felicity admits to the team that she isn't sure if Arrow will kill Carl.
When Arrow threatens to kill Carl, Carl says that he knows Arrow only kills when he has to. Arrow shoves him off over the edge where he hangs suspended, and Carl says that his supplier is Derek Sampson and makes the drop-off from a different location each time. Arrow takes the package from him and then breaks the line, and Carl falls to the street below.
Back at the warehouse, Felicity tells the others that when Oliver comes back he'll have her analyze the drug and find out where it's being manufactured. She makes DVD and tells the team to review them, and Rene complains that Oliver is overestimating his patience. Oliver comes in and gives the drug to Felicity, and Rene says that he knows the neighborhood where Sampson is operating. He wants to head out, but Oliver says that they don't deal in guesswork. Unimpressed, Rene says that maybe Oliver doesn't know the streets, and Oliver just says that if they impressive him training then maybe he'll let them out. Felicity picks up a B&E with an armed gunman, and Oliver heads out to handle it.
When Arrow arrives at the address, Billy steps out and apologizes for the fake radio call. He says that they should meet, and says that he caught Conaghan's murder. Conaghan threatened Church, and the guy who killed Conaghan told Church to back off of Arrow.
At a Federal prison, Lyla meets with an imprisoned Diggle and he tells her what happened in Chechnya. He figures that pinning him was the backup plan, and the guards take Diggle back to his cell. Lawton is sharing a cell with him, and the guards ignore Diggle when he says that they have to let him out.
At City Hall, Oliver's head of security says that he needs to take his security detail more seriously. Oliver doesn't want a detail and meets with Thea in his office. Thea is watching newscaster Susan Williams, who is reporting that Quentin recently suffered a relapse. Oliver reminds Thea that he told her not to offer Quentin a position in his administration, and Thea says that she decided to do what was right. He tells his sister to make it go away because she's the one who made the mess.
Five Years Ago
When Oliver wakes up, Anatoly talks about how Oliver was the only one who knows what he went through on the island. He offers Oliver water and reminds Oliver that Bratva is the only way for him to get close to Kovar and kill him. Anatoly says that there are two more tests, and Oliver tells his friend that he doesn't trust Bratva after they executed three innocent men. His host says that there's a miscommunication and says that Oliver can go once he shows him something.
Now
Rene and Evelyn go to the neighborhood to do recon. They enter a building a factory and find Sampson's Stardust manufacturing plant. Rene figures that they don't need Arrow to bust the place out and puts on his mask, then drops down and shoots the thugs. The survivors open fire and Evelyn takes on the ones up on her catwalk.
Wild Dog chases after Sampson and they fight over the vat of Stardust as another pipe leaks into it. Sampson beats him, but Evelyn fires a warning shot. Wild Dog knocks Sampson over the rail and the drug dealer falls into the vat below.
The next day, DA Adrian Chase visits Oliver in the mayor's office as Oliver assures Mrs. Conaghan that they'll get justice for her husband. Adrian says that he was building a case against Sampson but Wild Dog killed him. At the warehouse, Oliver tells Rene what he found out. Rene insists that it was him or Sampson, and Oliver says that he shouldn't have been there. He explains about Adrian's plan, but Rene is unimpressed. Oliver says that he needs to be able to trust him as well, and he's wasting his time if he can't. Once he leaves, Felicity admits that Rene is even more stubborn than Oliver and goes off.
Thea arranges a meeting with Susan, and Susan claims that her producer is pushing her to be edgy. When Thea asks Susan to walk back her story, saying that Oliver doesn't know that Thea offered Quentin the job, and Susan says that she'll update her story.
Lawton explains that he survived the explosion but got arrested a few months later. Diggle explains about what happened in Chechnya, and Lawton suggests that they play cards.
At the city morgue, a coroner is performing an autopsy on Sampson. Sampson opens his eyes and gasps, and wonders why he can't feel anything before strangling the coroner.
Rory leaves for the night and Curtis offers to go with him. His teammate isn't interested, and mentions that he was from Haven Rock. Felicity is listening and Curtis picks up on it, and says that he has some things to do. Once Rory leaves, Felicity tells Curtis that Rory doesn't know that she destroyed Haven Rock. Curtis insists that it was Damien, and Felicity reminds him that she's the one who sent the missile there. A 911 comes in from Starling General.
At the hospital, Arrow arrives as Sampson tears through the guards. He shoos Sampson in the shoulder, pinning him to the wall, but Sampson pulls free of the arrow and attacks Arrow. He pins him to the wall, and Arrow manages to break free and slip off.
Rory returns to the warehouse and Curtis tells him what happened. Felicity checks the coroner's toxicology report and discovers that Sampson's body was infused with the Stardust chemical. Oliver comes in and says that they need to find Sampson before he hurts anyone else. He explains that Sampson has enhanced strength and can't feel pain, and Curtis offers to run tests to see if they can reverse the process. Adrian texts Oliver, and Rene asks for the chance to help. Oliver says that he needs to trust him, but Rory and Evelyn ask Oliver to let them help. Their leader refuses and walks out.
Five Years Ago
Anatoly takes Oliver to a woman and she asks about her son. He says that she won't see him again, and the mother thanks Anatoly for bringing her son's killer to justice. She goes to tell her husband, and Anatoly explains that the man was a friend of Kovar so he went free. The Bratva stepped in to do justice, and says that they would have done so even if Oliver hadn't rung the bell. Anatoly advises Oliver to trust the process and that he'll need a Bratva army to defeat Kovar.
Now
Lawton is playing solitaire and talks about Andy. He asks if Diggle ever found HIVE, and Diggle says that Andy was alive... and he killed him. Lawton says that Diggle should have hated himself, not Lawton, for killing Andy.
Oliver meets with Adrian, who says that Judge Pittson won't sign a search warrant for Sampson's private residence. When the mayor agrees to help, Adrian thanks him and reminds him that he tried to pick up Adrian's girlfriend 12 years ago. Thea comes in and after Adrian leaves, she shows Oliver Susan's new broadcast. Susan says that Oliver doesn't know what's going on in his administration, and Thea was the one who made the decision. Thea says that she'll make a statement taking the blame and then resign, and walks off.
At the bunker, Curtis warns Felicity that Rory will figure out Felicity's connection to Haven Rock. He tells her to clear the air because secrets never work out, and she needs to trust that he'll realize it wasn't her fault.
Sampson meets with his men and says that he's thinking bigger than Stardust. He figures that Church should be afraid of him, bares his arm, and holds a lit cigarette lighter to it without even noticing. Sampson says that once they all get the same treatment, they'll take the city back from Church.
Felicity finds Oliver at the bunker and he has her bring up Susan's broadcast. He admits that he can't keep his people in line as Oliver as Arrow, and point out that Rene created a superhuman when he didn't listen. Felicity talks about her pet dog just did what he did because she poorly trained it. She tells Oliver that when he's in charge, everything is on him, and points out that Rene was able to locate Sampson's operation. Felicity says that Oliver has to trust his new team. A report comes up of someone breaking into Allman Industrial, and the thief shrugged off the security guard's bullets. Felicity goes to work to determine what was stolen, while Oliver goes to get the team.
Lyla meets with Diggle and tells him that Walker's records show financial irregularities. He tells his wife to stop digging because he's not going to fight the charges, and he wants to be punished for killing Andy. Diggle says that he didn't have to pull the trigger but he did, and something's wrong with him. He still wants to bring Andy's killer to justice, and turns to show Lyla that Lawton is alive. Lawton isn't there, and Diggle realizes that he hallucinated the entire thing. He tells Lyla to stop fighting for him because he has.
Curtis and Evelyn spar, and Curtis is wearing a jacket that he explains belonged to Mr. Terrific, the greatest wrestler in the history of wrestler. The words "fair play" are written on one sleeve. Oliver comes in and goes over to Rene, and says that he wants Rene to take crimefighting as seriously as he is. Felicity comes in and overhears Oliver apologizing, and says that Sampson stole a chemical replicator. They realize that Sampson is going to make more metahumans like himself and will go back to his drug-manufacturing plant, Oliver says that he'll need an army of his own and they suit up.
Sampson and his men break into the manufacturing plant and they drain the liquid from the vat. Arrow takes out several of them and shoots Sampson in the shoulder with a line arrow, then yanks him into the air. Sampson shrugs it off and the two men fight, while Wild Dog and the others plant explosive charges. Curtis is wearing the costume of his favorite wrestler, Mr. Terrific, and a thug finds him. Mr. Terrific smiles as ragman comes up behind the thug and entangles him in his cloak.
Wild Dog and Evelyn fight their way through the thugs. Mr. Terrific attaches the bomb to the vat.
Arrow and Sampson continue watching, and Arrow finally pins him and dislocates his arm. When Sampson points out that he can't hurt him, Arrow cuts the tendons in his arms and legs. Arrow says that he trusted his guys to take care of Sampson's men. He then goes to join his team and they all leave as the plant blows up.
Oliver takes the team to the bunker for the first time and they look at the costumes that Arrow has mounted in the cases for them.
Five Years Ago
Anatoly takes Oliver back to the Bratva headquarters and explains that the brothers will kill and die for each other... as Oliver will. He opens a case of knife and tells Oliver that they must trust that the brothers won't kill him. Oliver says that he trusts them, and Anatoly has him remove his jacket. The brothers each take a knife and line up behind Oliver, and each one cuts his back.
Now
Thea enters Oliver's office and finds her brother with Adrian. Adrian says that they captured Sampson and apparently Oliver has a new team. Once he leaves, Thea says that she'll stay on until Oliver finds a replacement. He says that he wants someone that he'll trust, and assures her that she didn't mess up. He then goes into the conference room and tells the press that he takes full responsibility for any decision that any member of his team makes.
In the bunker, Felicity and the others watch as Olive says that he truss his team.
Quentin enter the conference room and Oliver says that he'll be serving as his deputy mayor.
Afterward, Susan approaches Thea. The reporter apologizes but Thea says that Susan played her and she only gets to it once. The next time Susan crosses her, Thea promises that she'll be out of work.
In the bunker, Curtis gets a call from Paul. Meanwhile, Evelyn asks Felicity what the rule is on dating while vigilanting. Felicity tells her not to and goes over to Rory. She finally tells him that Haven Rock wasn't the original target of the nuclear missile, and she redirected the missile there. Felicity apologizes and Rory turns and leaves without a word.
Lyla visits Oliver and tells him that Diggle is in prison, and she needs Oliver to break him out.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 20, 2016